
<p>Zafar Siddiqi, the co-founder and chairman of CNBC Africa, passed away on Friday, February 23. He was 76.</p>



<p>An entrepreneur in media and education with an impeccable record across three continents – the Middle East, South Asia and Africa, Siddiqi was also the Chairman of Lancaster University Ghana and Curtin University in Ghana.</p>



<p>In a letter to the staff of the ABN Group, which includes both CNBC Africa and FORBES AFRICA,</p>



<p>Dr Rakesh Wahi, the founder and publisher of FORBES AFRICA, said that Siddiqi’s “leadership, wisdom, commitment, values and support will be missed and will leave a gap in our lives”.</p>



<p>“Twenty years ago, Zafar and I embarked on a journey to set up CNBC Africa. An ambitious project that was seen with scepticism as no one had attempted a Pan-African Business News Network for the African continent,” Wahi said.</p>



<p>Before starting his journey in media, which would span over 30 years, Siddiqi started as an accountant for global auditing firm KPMG and later as the Managing Director of one of its consultancy practices. He spent 18 years with KPMG in Oman and Pakistan.</p>



<p>His introduction to TV began in Pakistan specializing in providing business programs to overseas broadcasters. He later founded the CNBC Arabia network across the Middle East, the first international brand to broadcast in Arabic. This was followed by CNBC Pakistan and CNBC Africa.</p>



<p>“Nothing broke our will to succeed and succeed we did, with the support of all of you (management and staff) and armed always with each other’s strength and belief in what we had embarked on. We never gave up and vested our lives both physically and financially, into our beliefs,” Wahi added.</p>



<p>Siddiqi firmly believed in Africa and the future of broadcast journalism on the continent. “I believe Africa is on the verge of explosion as far as investment is concerned. There are not many places in the world that have the resources Africa has,” he stated in a 2018 interview with FORBES AFRICA.</p>



<p>His passion for TV was evident in his 2019 book, <em>TV News 3.0: An Insider&#8217;s Guide To Launching And Running News Channels In The Digital Age</em>, which was an authoritative study of the media world.</p>



<p>“In 2002, I launched CNBC Arabia, over the whole of the Middle East, which was 26-odd countries,” Siddiqi also told CNBC Africa in an interview in 2019. “The dialects were different, traveling was different. Media was just about opening up after the Gulf War… and that&#8217;s all changed. It&#8217;s changed so much. And I think technology has changed all of that. Social media has changed all of that. And I think that African countries are moving very quickly towards this integration, because you&#8217;ve got to keep up with what&#8217;s happening in the rest of the world. So that is why I firmly believe that these economies will move closer together. And hence, I believe that CNBC Africa will play a very important role.”</p>



<p>In the interview with FORBES AFRICA, as an entrepreneur, Siddiqi had this valuable piece of advice on the power of networking: “Remember to be yourself and be original, that’s how you succeed. Originality [always] comes through!”</p>



<p>His passing is a loss not just for the ABN Group but to the industry to which he was passionate about.</p>



<p></p>


DSC_0016

Remembering Zafar Siddiqi: The Formidable Entrepreneur And Investor In Media For Over Three Decades


<p>A notable shift seems to be taking place in Egypt&#8217;s economic strategy in a new era of collaboration with several regions in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). And the country’s banks such as CIB (Commercial International Bank) are playing a part in this transformative journey.</p>



<p>“Kenya made sense. East Africa is close to Egypt, the language is similar, and Kenya is the gateway.&nbsp; The Kenyan market is one of the most advanced digitally and digital is the perfect way to, with a controlled investment, grow a large footprint quickly,” says the bank’s Managing Director Hussein Majid Abaza.</p>



<p>In April 2020, CIB initially acquired a 51% stake in Kenya&#8217;s Mayfair Bank, subsequently completing the buyout in 2023 and rebranding it as CIB Kenya.</p>



<p>As Egypt remains resilient amid political unrest, security concerns, and fluctuating tourism numbers, CIB has maintained its annual growth.</p>



<p>The introduction of CIB Kenya could herald an era in which Egypt is seeking to foster trade partnerships. The bank&#8217;s niche lies in facilitating exports and it will seek to grow business links between the two countries such as with tea, where Egypt is the second-largest market for Kenyan tea exports.</p>



<p>Egypt&#8217;s commitment to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is also a pivotal move that aligns with the broader vision of a unified African market. After ratifying the AfCFTA protocol in 2019, Egypt, under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s leadership, chaired the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) from November 2021 to June 2023.</p>



<p>Trade liberalization initiatives and investment trade missions have underscored Egypt&#8217;s commitment to opening new markets on the continent. The country’s trade dynamics seem to show its resilience and adaptability, with the country emerging as a leading exporter to COMESA countries in 2022, reaching $3.4 billion.</p>



<p>“The continent is the right place to be; it is where growth is, and where growing populations are,” says Abaza.</p>



<p>CIB&#8217;s strategic foray into Kenya serves as a microcosm of Egypt&#8217;s larger ambitions for Africa. By leveraging its financial expertise towards new cross-border acquisitions, Egypt seems to be not only strengthening its economic ties with East Africa but also fostering innovation through the exchange of fintech ideas and talent through extensive banking analyst training programs in East Africa.</p>



<p>While Egypt&#8217;s influence within COMESA is expanding, these figures also underscore the vast potential for further development. In comparison to the global trade landscape, with the value of Egypt’s exports sitting at $51.6 billion in 2022, there is still considerable ground to cover in integrating SSA into Egypt&#8217;s global trade chain.</p>


Panorama of Cairo

Egypt’s Pivot Towards Sub-Saharan Africa And Strengthening Economic Ties


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>A Norwegian Cruise Line is stuck off the coast of Mauritius after some passengers on a South African voyage were quarantined after experiencing a stomach illness aboard the ship, and local authorities decided to prevent any other passengers on the massive ship from disembarking until test results come back.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>The Norwegian Cruise Line said “a small number” of guests aboard the ship began experiencing mild symptoms of a stomach-related illness earlier this week.</p>



<p>The Norwegian Dawn was scheduled to arrive in Port Louis on Feb. 25, but after the boat skipped its Reunion Island stop it arrived earlier at Port Louis, where authorities said the ship could not dock, the Mauritius Ports Authority&nbsp;<a href="http://www.mauport.com/communique" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;Sunday.</p>



<p>The Mauritius Ministry of Health took samples from about 15 passengers on board the Dawn—which was on a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cruisemapper.com/ships/Norwegian-Dawn-699?tab=itinerary" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">12-day cruise</a>&nbsp;from Cape Town to Port Louis—because of the ongoing health risk and isolated them aboard the boat, according to the authority&nbsp;<a href="http://www.mauport.com/communique" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>.</p>



<p>Until testing is complete, Mauritius would not let anyone leave or board the ship for the next cruise until Tuesday, Norwegian said in a statement.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



<p>It will take about 48 hours for health officials to receive the test results from the 15 passengers they tested.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-we-don-t-know">WHAT WE DON’T KNOW</h2>



<p>It’s unclear exactly how many passengers or crew members are sick. Officials only said they tested 15 individuals.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>2,184. That’s how many passengers are aboard the Norwegian Dawn, along with 1,026 crew members,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.mauport.com/communique" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to</a>&nbsp;the Mauritius Ports Authority. About 2,000 passengers were scheduled to disembark the cruise Sunday but are still aboard the boat. Some 2,279 new passengers were scheduled to board the ship in Port Louis on Sunday but have not yet done so, the Mauritius Ports Authority said. U.S.-based Norwegian Cruise Line said it is providing guests complimentary hotel accommodations until “they are able to board.”</p>


Cruise Ship In Lockdown At Sydney Harbour Over Coronavirus Fears

More Than 2,000 Stuck On Cruise Ship Because Of Mystery Illness


<p><strong>South Africa joins other African nations like Cape Verde, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Namibia in attracting &#8216;digital nomads’.</strong></p>



<p>South Africa is positioning itself as a beacon for global professionals through its latest visa regulation amendments, including the introduction of the &#8216;digital nomad&#8217; visa. Announcing these changes via his newsletter on Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa underscored the urgency of attracting skilled individuals to propel the country&#8217;s competitiveness and economic growth. &#8220;To succeed in an ever-changing global economy, our country needs far more people with the right skills,&#8221; Ramaphosa articulated, emphasizing the initiative&#8217;s role in fostering employment and innovation.</p>



<p>The South African Department of Home Affairs has gazetted proposed amendments, including the digital nomad visa, inviting public feedback until March 29. This step towards modernizing immigration laws underscores the initiative&#8217;s potential but also its pending finalization. Additionally, South Africa joins other African nations like Cape Verde, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Namibia in attracting digital nomads, reflecting a continent-wide embrace of remote work trends. These countries offer unique opportunities for digital nomads, highlighting Africa&#8217;s growing appeal in the global digital economy.</p>



<p>&#8220;The story really is how the world of work has changed, and the world of work means that you can work anywhere at any point in time because of the internet, and disruption that has taken place because of technological innovation,&#8221; explains Judi Nwokedi, a tourism expert and Founding President of the Black Business Women&#8217;s Alliance to FORBES AFRICA. &#8220;So you have a new cohort of workers with possibly high levels of disposable income&#8230; to capture a fast, emerging sector that is in demand… You want to attract people like that, and their spending.”</p>



<p>The Department of Home Affairs aims to simplify the visa regime, recently introducing a points-based system for the critical skills visa and offering the &#8216;digital nomad&#8217; visa to remote workers employed by foreign companies. This approach not only acknowledges the shifting paradigms of work but also promises to make South Africa a lucrative destination for high-skilled professionals. According to the government gazette published on February 8 this year, these amendments are designed to attract talents that can contribute significantly to the South African economy by introducing a more flexible and welcoming visa policy for digital nomads and professionals with critical skills.</p>



<p>Nwokedi further emphasizes the need for ease of access, &#8220;Flight connectivity, and a visa regime that is seamless. Apply online, pay online and move into the digital economy&#8230; We are competing with many attractive destinations, and one of the hurdles is getting a visa.&#8221;</p>



<p>South Africa has already been a destination for remote workers, with the Covid-19 pandemic having accelerated remote work, allowing workers from economically strong countries to migrate and work – especially in Cape Town, voted as the most popular remote work destination according to a survey by Remote.io.</p>



<p>However, challenges in the form of visa processing delays and administrative complexities could potentially deter the talent South Africa seeks to attract. In December 2023, the Department of Home Affairs issued a waiver to visa applicants and visa holders requesting extensions due to the current backlog the Department is experiencing.</p>



<p>Despite these obstacles, the allure of South Africa as a destination for digital nomads remains strong. The country&#8217;s diverse culture, breathtaking landscapes, and vibrant tech scene present a compelling case for remote workers and critical skills professionals looking for a dynamic work-life balance.</p>



<p>Nwokedi also highlighted the economic dynamics affected by the influx of digital nomads, &#8220;I guess when you are in a free market, the free market forces reign&#8230; so you have to have dynamic pricing which protects the locals, but you also have to want locals who want to make money.&#8221;</p>



<p>The economic impact of this initiative could be transformative, with potential boosts to tourism, real estate, and local businesses.</p>



<p>Rental prices in desirable remote work destinations such as Cape Town have increased drastically, with the latest <em>State of Cape Town Central City Report</em> indicating an annual increase of 28% for one-bedroom apartments, driven in part by the influx of foreign remote workers.</p>



<p>In his newsletter, Ramaphosa expressed optimism about the initiative&#8217;s impact on innovation and competitiveness. &#8220;International experience shows that employees with critical skills contribute to improved productivity, enhanced innovation,&#8221; he noted, signaling a strategic move to bolster the country&#8217;s global standing through a skilled workforce.</p>



<p>Nwokedi concludes, &#8220;South Africa can do with as many positive components to redefine the narrative of our country and our brand. If it is an intervention that does not require huge capital, why not take the path less traveled where you can shift the needle on the dial?&#8221;</p>



<p>The introduction of digital nomad visas by South Africa represents a forward-thinking approach to economic growth, recognizing the value of integrating global talent into the local economy.</p>



<p><strong>Ends</strong></p>


Male traveler at the airport using his cell phone while waiting for his flight

South Africa: Embracing Digital Nomads For Economic Growth


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Internet users in Pakistan are turning to virtual private networks to access the social media platform X after the site was blocked over the weekend following a contentious national election and admission of ballot fraud by a local government official.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>VPNs, which can mask the identity and location of users to help access websites and services that may be blocked in a certain region, have become increasingly popular in the days since access to X, formerly known as Twitter,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2024/02/18/users-report-x-down-in-pakistan-after-official-admits-election-rigging/?sh=509ed05f7e39">was cut off</a>&nbsp;for much of the country.</p>



<p>While social media platforms have been marred with issues in Pakistan for the last month, the issue came to a head at about noon ET on Saturday and, as of Friday morning, X has been restricted in the country for five days, according to watchdog monitoring service&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/netblocks" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Netblocks</a>.</p>



<p>Top10VPN, an independent VPN review website,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.top10vpn.com/research/vpn-demand-statistics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>&nbsp;that demand for VPN services in Pakistan rose 131% Sunday, the first full day of the X outage, and continued into Monday, when the demand was 91% higher than average.</p>



<p>Nord Security, a VPN provider in Pakistan, told Forbes search interest in its products doubled on Sunday and reached four times its usual traffic for the week on Tuesday, while ExpressVPN said traffic to its website from Pakistan spiked 67% within the first 24 hours of the disruption, and has increased 80% in the four days since.</p>



<p>Surfshark, another provider in the country, said its new user acquisition rates in Pakistan climbed between 300% and 400% when compared to the previous month, “indicating a growing dependence on these services for internet access and privacy.”</p>



<p>The American media team for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the centrist party whose leader&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2023/12/18/imran-khan-pakistans-jailed-ex-leader-uses-ai-deepfake-to-address-online-election-rally/?sh=227df3aa5903">Imran Khan</a>&nbsp;was jailed ahead of the country&#8217;s election earlier this month, on Wednesday&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/PTIOfficialUSA/status/1760316797843067377" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">posted to X</a>&nbsp;that the Pakistani government has also begun to block popular VPN services.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



<p>“Pakistan’s latest clampdown on social media is a continuation of a broader trend of limiting internet access and undermining digital rights in the country,” Lauren Hendry Parsons, a privacy advocate for ExpressVPN, told Forbes in a statement. “It’s another example of a global decline in internet freedom as more countries have become more comfortable enforcing internet shutdowns.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2024/02/18/users-report-x-down-in-pakistan-after-official-admits-election-rigging/?sh=4d885cc97e39">recent restrictions</a>&nbsp;on social media in Pakistan began on Saturday, when a government official admitted he&#8217;d help to manipulate the results of a nationwide Feb. 8 election. Liaqat Ali Chattha, the commissioner of Rawalpindi,&nbsp;<a href="https://sg.news.yahoo.com/senior-official-says-helped-rig-104840000.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;he would hand himself over to police after he&#8217;d &#8220;personally supervised&#8221; the switching of 70,000 votes. The fraud admission came one week after an extremely contentious national election that saw Khan jailed ahead of the vote and charges dropped against the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, who is the preferred candidate of the Pakistan military. After Khan was sentenced, use of the PTI symbol to identify party candidates on national ballots was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-s-pti-barred-from-using-cricket-bat-electoral-symbol-/7439552.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">banned</a>—a move slammed as an access issue for the roughly 62% of the country who&nbsp;<a href="https://mofept.gov.pk/ProjectDetail/NjQ4ZTg2NjItOWM2NC00Y2IxLTkzMDgtMjU2OTFhMjA4NzNh#:~:text=The%20current%20literacy%20rate%20of,is%20illiterate%20in%20the%20country." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cannot read</a>—and all PTI candidates were forced to run as independents. PTI-backed candidates&nbsp;<a href="https://time.com/6693631/imran-khan-allies-lead-pakistan-election-final-results/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">did gain more votes</a>&nbsp;than those of any other party, but because each candidate ran as an individual, PML-N was the largest single-party winner in parliament. Both groups have claimed victory, and Sharif said he plans to form a coalition government. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has demanded an inquiry into the claims of election rigging, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/amid-allegations-of-mass-vote-rigging-could-2024-pakistan-election-results-be-declared-null-and-void/articleshow/107796285.cms" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Times of India.</a></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>5. That&#8217;s how many times Pakistan has implemented internet restrictions so far this year, according to Surfshark. Of those, three took place in February and were directly related to the elections. The other two occurred in January&nbsp;<a href="https://www.jurist.org/news/2024/01/pakistan-experiences-internet-disruption-during-virtual-pti-rally/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">during virtual events</a>&nbsp;organized by PTI. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Wednesday&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us-urges-pakistan-lift-internet-shutdowns-social-media-restrictions-2024-02-21/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">urged</a>&nbsp;the Pakistani government to &#8220;restore access to any social media that has been restricted, including Twitter.&#8221; Elon Musk, the owner of X and the world&#8217;s second-richest person, has not commented publicly on the outage.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h2>



<p>Those who have been able to access X have lashed out at Umar Saif, Pakistan’s interim technology minister, after he posted several times on the platform after the outage began, which implies he used a VPN to skirt government wishes. Saif&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/umarsaif" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">has posted</a>&nbsp;original content to X four times and retweeted one post since Feb. 18, including a post flaunting the growth of Pakistan&#8217;s IT industry. None of his posts referenced the outage. &#8220;Sir which vpn you&#8217;re using to tweet this?&#8221; one X user&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Thisharoon2/status/1760240974876340482" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">asked</a>. Anas Mallick, a reporter with WIONews,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/AnasMallick/status/1760272060201263411" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">responded</a>&nbsp;to a post Wednesday with &#8220;please let us know what VPN are you using to tweet this for the benefit of general public.&#8221;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">SURPRISING FACT</h2>



<p>Pakistan isn’t the only country to have VPN use surge following a change in policy. Nord Security said traffic surges like the ones seen in Pakistan this week were also observed in 2022, when <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-xi-says-full-control-over-hong-kong-achieved-determined-taiwan-2022-10-16/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">news emerged</a> China was considering taking full control of Hong Kong, and in the United States in 2017, when the FCC repealed <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/14/technology/net-neutrality-repeal-vote.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">net neutrality rules</a>. Similar spikes also occurred in the United Kingdom in 2016 when the country passed the so-called <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/29/snoopers-charter-bill-becomes-law-extending-uk-state-surveillance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&#8220;Snoopers&#8217; Charter&#8221; law</a>, which allows the government to collect online information on its citizens and have it stored by private companies.</p>


Supporters of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan protest in Peshawer

X Outage In Pakistan Triggers Surge In VPN Use


<p>South Africa is on the brink of a historic electoral shift as it prepares for the general elections set for May 29. President Cyril Ramaphosa&#8217;s announcement of the election date, coinciding with the country&#8217;s 30th anniversary of democracy, marks a critical juncture for the African National Congress (ANC) and the nation&#8217;s evolving political landscape.</p>



<p>The ANC, having dominated South African politics since the end of apartheid in 1994, faces a significant test as polls suggest a decline in its popularity among voters. Marisa Lourenço, a seasoned political and risk analyst, points out to FORBES AFRICA, &#8220;Even if the ANC drops below 50% of the total vote share, it will almost certainly remain the largest party in parliament.&#8221; This potential shift towards coalition governments at the national level raises questions about service delivery and governance stability.</p>



<p>Lourenço warns of the challenges posed by coalition politics, citing the local level&#8217;s chaos as a possible precursor to what could unfold nationally. &#8220;But I don’t expect things to be quite so bad at the national level,&#8221; she adds, suggesting that the ideological similarities between the ANC and the Democratic Alliance (DA) might offer a silver lining for governance stability.</p>



<p>The recent compulsory release of documents related to the ANC&#8217;s cadre deployment policy has stirred controversy, revealing the party&#8217;s strategy for placing political appointees across government levels. Lourenço argues that the focus should be on the message, not the messenger, as it exposes the depths of kleptocracy within South Africa&#8217;s judiciary. &#8220;Proof of the attempt to capture the judiciary is the single largest event post-1994 that indicates that not all is well in democratic South Africa,&#8221; she asserts, questioning the readiness of South Africans to confront these revelations.</p>



<p>The timing of Ramaphosa&#8217;s election date announcement, deemed unusual by some due to its proximity to the budget speech, is strategic according to Lourenço. She believes it served to distract from the cadre deployment controversy and focus on the importance of voting, amidst the ANC&#8217;s attempts to leverage its liberation movement legacy to maintain support.</p>



<p>Furthermore, the emergence of new political parties, including the MK party endorsed by former President Jacob Zuma, introduces additional dynamics into the election. However, Lourenço views Zuma&#8217;s influence as limited, particularly on a national scale. &#8220;His message resonates in KwaZulu-Natal, but he doesn’t have a wider national pull,&#8221; she explains, downplaying the potential impact of Zuma&#8217;s political maneuvers on the broader election outcome.</p>



<p>As South Africa approaches these pivotal elections, the ANC&#8217;s dominance is challenged not only by internal factionalism and national issues such as power cuts and unemployment but also by the evolving political landscape marked by the emergence of new parties and coalition possibilities. The public&#8217;s response to these developments, informed by statements from political figures like Ramaphosa and analyses from experts like Lourenço, will shape the future of South Africa&#8217;s democracy and governance.</p>



<p>Reflecting on the 30th anniversary of democracy, this election is not just a procedural event but a moment of introspection for the nation. The ANC&#8217;s historical significance and its role in the anti-apartheid movement have afforded it a longstanding majority. However, the current political climate, characterized by public dissatisfaction with service delivery and economic challenges, suggests a potential reconfiguration of power dynamics.</p>



<p>Coalition governance, while a new concept at the national level, offers a glimpse into the possible future of South African politics. The experiences at the local government level, though mixed, highlight the complexities of shared governance. Analyst Lourenço emphasizes that while coalitions can introduce policy inertia, the ideological proximity of the ANC and DA may mitigate some governance risks. &#8220;The two largest parties in parliament – at the moment, and almost certainly after the upcoming elections – are the ANC and the DA, and ideologically they are very similar, which is a plus for overall stability in governance,&#8221; she explains.</p>



<p>Public statements from political leaders like Ramaphosa, urging democratic participation and peaceful campaigning, alongside analyses from experts, highlight the significance of these elections not just for governance but for the very fabric of South African democracy. &#8220;International experience shows that employees with critical skills contribute to improved productivity, enhanced innovation,&#8221; Ramaphosa noted in his newsletter, signaling the strategic importance of this electoral moment.</p>



<p>As South Africa stands at this crossroads, the 2024 elections offer a chance to reflect on the journey since the end of apartheid, evaluate the successes and shortcomings of the ANC&#8217;s governance, and decide on the path forward. The potential for coalition governments, the impact of new political parties, and the electorate&#8217;s response to current challenges will not only determine the immediate future of the country but also set the tone for South Africa&#8217;s democratic and governance landscape for years to come.</p>


South African President Ramaphosa Briefs The Media On Voters Registration Weekend

South Africa’s Pivotal Polls: The Country Will Vote On May 29  


<p>Last week, on Thursday, February 15, the Ethiopian Government&#8217;s investment arm, <a href="https://eih.et/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ethiopian Investment Holdings</a> (EIH), signed a memorandum of understanding with Hong-Kong-based West Data Group&#8217;s Center Service PLC to commence mining bitcoin.</p>



<p>The partnership is under a general agreement for a groundbreaking $250 million data mining project &#8220;that is dedicated to establishing cutting-edge infrastructure for data mining and artificial intelligence training operations in Ethiopia,&#8221; according to the EIH. Ethiopia is positioning itself as a leader in the data centre space in Africa, which is estimated to grow to $5.4 billion by 2027, according to Aritzon Advisory and Intelligence.</p>



<p>As noted by Kal Kassa, CEO for Ethiopia at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hashlabsmining.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hashlabs Mining</a>, “the development is part of the Ethiopian Government&#8217;s aim to drive economic growth by leveraging technology and energy sources to attract foreign investments.”</p>



<p>The EIH has yet to confirm the details of its bitcoin mining operations or respond to requests for comment by other publications. Nevertheless, as the project matures, we can expect to get more clarity from them on the particulars of the arrangement.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bitcoin-mining-in-ethiopia">Bitcoin Mining In Ethiopia</h2>



<p>Despite the ban on crypto trading in the country, 2022 saw the ratification of favorable data mining laws that permit &#8220;high-performance computing&#8221; and &#8220;data mining,&#8221; which is where bitcoin mining falls under. In the last two years, this has opened the floodgates to miners seeking its comparatively positive reception to bitcoin mining, coupled with its abundance of energy sources—chiefly hydro—to its optimal weather and cheap energy costs.</p>



<p>According to data from Bitcoin mining services company Luxor Technologies, in 2023, Ethiopia ranked fourth behind the USA, Hong Kong, and Asia as one of the top destinations for Bitcoin mining rigs. Russian bitcoin mining company Bitcluster has already built the first 120 MW bitcoin mining facility, and companies such as Hashlabs Mining have started building bitcoin mines in Ethiopia for their global clients.</p>



<p>In a few years, according to a forecast by a senior executive at Bitmain and reported by Bloomberg, Ethiopia&#8217;s energy potential could rival Texas&#8217;s generation capacity, which currently accounts for an astounding 28.5% of the US&#8217;s 40% global hash rate.</p>



<p>Nevertheless, bitcoin miners are cautious about the future of regulation in the country. As other regions have shown, bitcoin mining has no permanent regulatory cushion. It is also too early to predict whether Ethiopia will switch its stance on bitcoin mining as Iran and Kazakhstan did when it started competing with domestic energy demand.</p>



<p>Regardless, the government is keen on expanding its inflow of foreign currency to mitigate its economic challenges and views mining as a compelling investment opportunity to realise that goal.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-future-of-nation-state-mining-in-africa"><strong>The Future Of Nation State Mining In Africa</strong></h2>



<p>With the energy infrastructure yet to match demand on the ground for electricity in several African countries, using bitcoin mining has continued to become an attractive avenue to bring electricity to millions.</p>



<p>In Ethiopia, for example, over 40% of its population, roughly 120 million people, are without electricity. Yet, the country has an installed capacity generation of over 5,000 MW and anticipates a projected additional install capacity generation of ~5,150 MW following the completion of the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD), the largest hydroelectric project in Africa.</p>



<p>Following the examples of mining projects elsewhere in Africa, such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abubakarnurkhalil/2023/05/24/africans-are-pioneering-the-bright-yet-complicated-green-future-of-bitcoin-mining/?sh=6d70d31654ac">Gridless</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2023/11/20/nigerian-bitcoin-miner-trojan-mining-launch-500kw-hydro-mining-site/">Trojan Mining</a>, Ethiopia too can leverage its abundant excess green energy to provide electricity to its citizens via bitcoin mining. It can serve as a blueprint for other African countries with comparable energy sources to follow and navigate similar economic problems.</p>



<p>Further, the inclusion of bitcoin mining into the Ethiopian economy could contribute $2 &#8211; $4 billion to its GDP, according to data from&nbsp;<a href="https://projectmano.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Project Mano</a>, an open collective seeking to educate the government on the potential benefits of bitcoin to the country’s economy.</p>



<p>The economic benefits of Ethiopia strategically leveraging its abundant energy resources for Bitcoin mining are vast and far-reaching. It is only a matter of time before other African nations join the bandwagon.</p>



<p>Bitcoin mining will ultimately be a pivotal tool in addressing the economic challenges of various African countries.</p>


aaaxxxxx

Ethiopia To Become The First African Country To Start Bitcoin Mining


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Researchers have potentially linked an antiviral protein produced by the body during infection as the cause of long Covid, according to a new study, and they’re optimistic the next step is making medications to treat the disease.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Researchers followed patients with long Covid for 2.5 years to determine why some recovered from their symptoms and others didn’t, according to the study published Wednesday in Science Advances.</p>



<p>Long Covid (or post-Covid) symptoms include shortness of breath, loss of smell or taste, brain fog or chest pain following recovery from a Covid infection that can last for weeks—or in some cases, for years—<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</p>



<p>When infected with the coronavirus, people produce an inflammatory protein called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4154595/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interferon gamma</a>&nbsp;(or IFN-y), which is part of the body’s natural response to fight off infection.</p>



<p>The production of the protein typically stops once infection goes away, but researchers discovered participants with ongoing Covid symptoms had high levels of IFN-y for up to 31 months after initial infection, which the researchers believe may be the cause of long Covid.</p>



<p>Over 60% of patients experienced relief from at least some of their symptoms during the study period, and participants who were vaccinated after infection saw significant decreases in their long Covid symptoms and IFN-y production, suggesting vaccination “improved” long Covid symptoms, according to the study.</p>



<p>Current long Covid treatment only targets symptom alleviation and not the underlying disease, but now that a potential cause has been identified, there’s “hope that this could help to pave the way” for creating medication to specifically target long Covid, and “give some patients a firm diagnosis,” Benjamin Krishna, the study’s co-author and an investigator at Cambridge University, said in a statement.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



<p>“The number of people with long Covid is gradually falling, and vaccination seems to be playing a significant role in that,” Krishna said. “But new cases are still cropping up, and then there is the big question of what happens when the next coronavirus pandemic comes along. Understanding what causes long Covid now could give us a crucial head start.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>65 million. That’s how many people worldwide suffer from long Covid, according to a 2023&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41579-022-00846-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>. The CDC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7232a3.htm?s_cid=mm7232a3_w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">estimated</a>&nbsp;around 6% of American adults in June 2023 experienced long Covid at some point in their lives.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



<p>The study researchers believe because there are several symptoms of long Covid that can look very different from each other, more research is needed in order to create subgroups of the disease. It’s “unlikely” all symptoms are caused by the same thing since some patients are able to recover while others aren’t, so future studies into why should be conducted, according to the researchers.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Several risk factors play into who’s more susceptible to long Covid, <a href="https://covid19.nih.gov/covid-19-topics/long-covid" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a> to the National Institutes of Health: underlying health conditions like obesity and diabetes, going unvaccinated, experiencing severe Covid infection or hospitalization, older age and being a woman are all risk factors. Long Covid can affect several organs and body systems like the heart, lungs, kidney, reproductive system and brain and also trigger other health conditions like kidney disease, autoimmune disorders or diabetes. Other experts have attempted to identify the cause of long Covid. Some <a href="https://cardiab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12933-021-01359-7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> have hypothesized tiny clots in the cells that persist for a long time may be the cause of some symptoms. The microclots may cause an inflammatory response, which causes exhaustion and fatigue, two of the most common long Covid symptoms. The Science Advances researchers believe their new findings suggest microclotting can’t be the only or most significant cause, though they don’t rule it out. The lowering of certain anti-inflammatory gut microbiomes during and after Covid—which causes an inflammatory response—may also trigger long Covid, according to a 2022 <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9088471/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>. Another theory is that the coronavirus itself—not the body’s response to it—causes long Covid by damaging or altering cells, leading to lasting symptoms, according to a separate Science Advances <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abc5801" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">paper</a>.</p>


A Covid-19 Vaccination Site As Children Under 5-Years Old Become Eligible For Shot

Possible Long Covid Cause Identified: Suggests Protein Might Be Culprit—And Medication Might Cure It


<p>In a recent joint press briefing with Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, United States (US) Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken hailed the longstanding partnership between the countries in the fight against HIV/AIDS.</p>



<p>Reflecting on the success of the US President&#8217;s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) at Nigeria&#8217;s Federal Capital Territory in Abuja after meeting President Bola Tinubu, Blinken stated, &#8220;One of the things I must say as an American I’m proudest of is PEPFAR, initiated by President [George W.] Bush, carried on by successive presidents of both parties. Over the last 20 years, PEPFAR has saved well over 20 million lives and changed for the better many more.&#8221;</p>



<p>Summarizing PEPFAR&#8217;s investments in Nigeria so far, he continued, &#8220;Over the last 20 years, we’ve invested $8.3 billion in HIV and tuberculosis prevention, care, and treatment, and in strengthening the public health system, reaching millions of Nigerians. And that effort will continue.&#8221;</p>



<p>A month prior, Nigerian Minister of State for Health, Dr Tunji Alausa, reportedly expressed optimism about Nigeria&#8217;s progress in ending the HIV epidemic by 2030. Alausa revealed that Nigeria&#8217;s current HIV treatment coverage stands above 90%, with 1.6 million out of out of 1.9 million People Living with HIV/AIDS receiving treatment.</p>



<p>However, challenges persist, particularly in addressing the pediatric HIV burden. Dr Adebobola Bashorun, National Coordinator of the National AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, and STIs Control Programme (NASCP), reportedly disclosed that as of 2022, it was estimated that 159,923 children aged zero to 14 years were living with HIV; making it one of the countries with the highest paediatric HIV burden globally. 50,676 of the children were on treatment same year representing 32%.</p>



<p>In April 2019, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its partners launched an HIV Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) Surge in nine Nigerian states with the highest numbers of individuals with HIV not on treatment. The Delivering Technical Assistance Project (DELTA2), funded by CDC, and implemented by The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), commenced in the same year. Building upon the success of Project DELTA, DELTA2 focuses on providing technical assistance, capacity building, and program implementation services to advance the goals of PEPFAR and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.</p>



<p>Speaking on the project in Nigeria, EGPAF Country Manager Dr Nguavese Torbunde tells FORBES AFRICA: &#8220;We have established Incident Command Centers at the five supported states and at the National level. Through the Social Network Testing (SNT) approach, 8,582 adolescents and young persons were tested for HIV, and 27 were identified living with HIV and linked to ART; 95 healthcare workers were trained from three states on Age-appropriate Disclosure for children and adolescents.&#8221;</p>



<p>DELTA2 is just one facet of EGPAF&#8217;s comprehensive efforts as Torbunde delves into four other projects, each targeting specific aspects of pediatric HIV care.</p>



<p>Through the Pediatric Breakthrough Partnership Project Phase I, she shares that &#8220;30,674 children and adolescents aged 0-19 years were linked and provided HIV testing services, and 617 were identified living with HIV and linked to ART.&#8221; The project also provided crucial treatment adherence guidance and support to 2,742 children and adolescents living with HIV, while training over 500 healthcare service providers in essential areas of pediatric and adolescent HIV care.</p>


Covid-19, Nigeria

The Ongoing US-Nigeria Response To HIV/AIDS In Africa’s Most Populous Country


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Covid vaccines from companies like Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca were linked to rare occurrences of heart, brain and blood disorders, a recent peer-reviewed study found, though experts say the risks of developing Covid-19 greatly outweigh the risks of getting vaccinated.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Researchers from the Global Vaccine Data Network—a research arm of the World Health Organization—looked at expected versus observed rates of 13 medical conditions that were considered “adverse events of special interest” in a study population of 99 million vaccinated people eight countries, making it the largest Covid vaccine study to date.</p>



<p>Rare cases of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/myocarditis.html#:~:text=Myocarditis%20is%20inflammation%20of%20the,Shortness%20of%20breath" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">myocarditis</a>—inflammation of the heart—were identified in the first, second and third doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s and Moderna’s mRNA vaccines: The highest rate was seen after the second Moderna dose (6.1 times the expected rate of cases), according to the study published in the journal Vaccine.</p>



<p>Another heart condition called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pericarditis/symptoms-causes/syc-20352510#:~:text=Pericarditis%20is%20swelling%20and%20irritation,and%20goes%20away%20without%20treatment." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pericarditis</a>&nbsp;had a 6.9-fold increased risk in those who took a third dose of AstraZeneca’s viral-vector vaccine, while a first and fourth dose of Moderna’s vaccine had a 1.7-fold and 2.6-fold increased risk, respectively.</p>



<p>There was a 2.5-times greater risk of developing the rare autoimmune disorder&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/guillain-barre-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20362793" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Guillain-Barre syndrome</a>&nbsp;among those who took AstraZeneca’s vaccine compared to the rate researchers expected, and a 3.2-times greater risk of getting blood clots among the same population.</p>



<p>There was a 3.8-times greater risk of developing the neurological disorder acute disseminated encephalomyelitis after the Moderna vaccine was administered, and a 2.2-fold increased risk after AstraZeneca’s vaccine, according to the study.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">BIG NUMBER</h2>



<p>13.5 billion. That’s how many Covid vaccines have been administered worldwide since the start of the Covid pandemic,&nbsp;<a href="https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to science research organization Our World in Data. Around 71% of the world’s population has received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



<p>“The odds of all of these adverse events is still much, much higher when infected with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), so getting vaccinated is still by far the safer choice,” CEO of biotechnology company Centivax Jacob Glanville, who is not involved in the study, told Forbes.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Covid vaccines are meant to prevent severe infection, and studies have indicated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/recs/grade/covid-19-moderna-vaccine.html%5C" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Moderna</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/recs/grade/covid-19-pfizer-biontech-vaccine.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pfizer-BioNTech</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/the-oxford-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-what-you-need-to-know#:~:text=The%20AstraZeneca%20vaccine%20has%20an,about%204%20to%2012%20weeks." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AstraZeneca’s</a>&nbsp;vaccines are effective at preventing severe illnesses, hospitalizations and death. Meanwhile, the chances of having a neurological event after a Covid infection were up to 617-fold higher than following COVID vaccination, which suggests “the benefits of vaccination substantially outweigh the risks,” according to the Vaccine study researchers. The risk of developing myocarditis is higher post-Covid infection than after getting a Covid vaccine,&nbsp;<a href="https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/akiko-iwasaki/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to Akiko Iwasaki, PhD, professor of Immunobiology at Yale University. Myocarditis risk after the second dose of a Covid vaccine is 35.9 per 100,000 people, compared to a 64.9 per 100,000 risk after Covid infection. The risk of developing Guillain-Barre syndrome after Covid infection was six times greater, and the risk of developing it after vaccination was 0.41 times greater than the control group, according to a 2023&nbsp;<a href="https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000207900" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>&nbsp;published in Neurology. While most Americans have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot, uptake for booster shots that are updated to combat new coronavirus strains has remained slow.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h2>



<p>The rapidly spreading Covid variant JN.1 caused an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/12/20/jn1-covid-variant-of-interest-spreading-fast-in-us---heres-what-to-know/?sh=2fe82e10ccce">uptick in cases</a>&nbsp;during the fall and winter months, causing a resurgence of the tripledemic—when cases of Covid, flu and respiratory syncytial virus simultaneously increase. JN.1 made up&nbsp;<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions%5C" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">96.4</a><a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">%</a>&nbsp;of all cases in the two week period ending in Feb. 17. However, Covid cases (down 0.6%) and deaths (down 6.9%) are&nbsp;<a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variants-genomic-surveillance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">declining</a>—though hospitalizations are up 0.8%—signaling an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/caileygleeson/2024/01/19/tripledemic-surge-eases-as-covid-rsv-flu-figures-drop-for-second-week/?sh=5b629a4c64ac">end</a>&nbsp;to the tripledemic. The variant was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/18122023_jn.1_ire_clean.pdf?sfvrsn=6103754a_3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">classified</a>&nbsp;as a “variant of interest”—meaning it’s spreading in a way that may pose “an emerging risk to global public health”—by the World Health Organization in December. JN.1 is an offshoot of the highly mutated&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/11/28/what-to-know-about-rapidly-spreading-pirola-covid-variant-ba286-and-if-vaccines-offer-protection/?sh=27f10c0e1978">Pirola</a>&nbsp;(BA.2.86) virus that some experts worried wouldn’t be protected against the updated monovalent Covid boosters, which specifically target XBB variants. However, vaccine makers ensured their shots provided some protection.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2023/12/20/jn1-covid-variant-of-interest-spreading-fast-in-us---heres-what-to-know/?sh=2fe82e10ccce">JN.1 Covid ‘Variant Of Interest’ Spreading Fast In U.S. — Here’s What To Know</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/caileygleeson/2024/01/19/tripledemic-surge-eases-as-covid-rsv-flu-figures-drop-for-second-week/?sh=5b629a4c64ac">‘Tripledemic’ Surge Eases As Covid, RSV, Flu Figures Drop For Second Week</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2023/11/28/what-to-know-about-rapidly-spreading-pirola-covid-variant-ba286-and-if-vaccines-offer-protection/?sh=717483311978">What To Know About Rapidly Spreading ‘Pirola’ Covid Variant BA.2.86—And If Vaccines Offer Protection</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>


Japan begins the third inoculation of COVID-19 vaccine

Covid Vaccines Linked To Small Increase In Heart And Brain Disorders, Study Finds—But Risk From Infection Is Far Higher

<p class="has-text-align-center"><strong>Story curated</strong> by Chanel Retief and Nicole Pillay<br><strong>Art Direction</strong>: Lucy Nkosi <br><strong>Photography</strong>: Katlego Mokubyane ; <strong>Assistant</strong>: Sbusiso Sigidi <br><strong>Styling</strong>: Deneal Van Wyk; <strong>Outfits supplied</strong> by Fashimo Styles Studio, Ukara, Suited For Her and Preview<br><strong>Accessories Hair &amp; Makeup</strong>:Vanessa Unamaca, MakoleMade Location: NewKatz.Studio, Johannesburg</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<p>It’s the need of the hour that most entrepreneurs pivot in their approach to building businesses. This has become quite normalized in the tech space. Traditionalists see risks but not Dr Aisha Pandor, whose main goal has always been about building businesses that help those around her and help her plough back into her country’s economy. </p>



<p>Pandor, a qualified human geneticist, started SweepSouth, an online home cleaning and gardening services platform, with her husband, software engineer Alen Ribic, in 2014. The idea came about when she had just left her corporate career. While they were reviewing different business ideas, the couple realized that they needed help at home, at the time.</p>



<p>“That sparked the idea that there are services like Lyft and Uber, but there&#8217;s nothing that helps to connect you to home services, using technology,” Pandor says.</p>



<p>Almost a decade later, Pandor walks in for the photoshoot at the NewKatz.Studio in Johannesburg, South Africa, ready to announce that she has stepped down as CEO of the online platform.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Over 30 Under 50: &#039;Not About Perfection, But About Constantly Trying&#039;-Dr Aisha Pandor" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FoYGSUI73EU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>


<p>“One of the great things about being a scientist is that when you&#8217;re building, you measure your impact as you&#8217;re going along, you do it in a datadriven way.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p>“Now, I&#8217;m thinking about work-life balance. And so, I think it&#8217;s important to also showcase this phase in [a] woman&#8217;s career,” Pandor adds, stating that she will not be leaving SweepSouth permanently but will rather focus more on building a business centered around health, health technology and genetics.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p>“This is often the time when you&#8217;re having children or your children are old enough that you start thinking about the time that you spend with them. I think this notion of not needing to find the perfect balance, but being able to hold lots of spaces at the same time – that is really what being a power woman is about. It&#8217;s not about perfection. It&#8217;s about constantly trying.”</p>
<p></p>

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OVER 30 UNDER 50: ‘Not About Perfection, But About Constantly Trying’-Dr Aisha Pandor


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>OpenAI inked a deal with venture capital firm Thrive Capital that boosted its valuation to $80 billion or more, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/16/technology/openai-artificial-intelligence-deal-valuation.html?smid=tw-nytimes&amp;smtyp=cur" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York Times</a>&nbsp;reported, a nearly threefold increase in value from just nine months ago.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>OpenAI will engage in an existing share sale under the “so-called tender offer” led by Thrive, the Times reported, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the deal, noting the deal would allow employees to cash out their shares in the artificial intelligence company.</p>



<p>The deal comes nearly 10 months after OpenAI closed a $300 million share sale, marking it at a valuation of about&nbsp;<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/28/openai-funding-valuation-chatgpt/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$27 billion</a>.</p>



<p>An $80 billion valuation would rank the company as the No. 3 highest-valued tech startup in the world behind TikTok parent company ByteDance ($225 billion) and the Elon Musk-led SpaceX ($150 billion), according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbinsights.com/research-unicorn-companies" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CB Insights data</a>&nbsp;cited by the Times.</p>



<p>Talks surrounding a new deal were reported last year, when a share sale that would have reportedly valued OpenAI at up to $90 billion was being discussed, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/openai-seeks-new-valuation-of-up-to-90-billion-in-sale-of-existing-shares-ed6229e0?mod=e2tw" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wall Street Journal</a>.</p>



<p>OpenAI and Thrive Capital didn’t immediately respond to Forbes’ requests for comment.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>OpenAI was founded in 2015 and received several large investments from multiple tech companies and investors in and by the end of 2023. Microsoft has invested a total of $13 billion in OpenAI, though the tech giant has said it doesn’t own any portion of OpenAI and is instead “<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-08/microsoft-s-answer-to-openai-inquiry-it-doesn-t-own-a-stake" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">entitled to a share</a>&nbsp;of profit distributions.” Last April, Thrive, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and K2 Global agreed to acquire new shares in OpenAI, bringing its valuation to around $27 billion. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who was ousted from the company last year and promptly brought back after<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2023/11/22/sam-altman-agrees-to-return-as-openai-ceo/?sh=7821de9c8a96">&nbsp;internal uproar</a>, has said the company has no intentions to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/openai-ceo-has-no-ipo-plan-due-strange-company-structure-2023-06-06/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">go public</a>&nbsp;in the near future.</p>



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<p>By signing up, you accept and agree to our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/terms-and-conditions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Terms of Service</a>&nbsp;(including the class action waiver and arbitration provisions), and you acknowledge our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/privacy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Privacy Statement</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-news-peg">NEWS PEG</h2>



<p>OpenAI on Thursday unveiled&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2024/02/15/openai-reveals-sora-ai-video-model-capable-of-realistic-text-to-video-prompts/?sh=5206de69d361">its newest product, Sora</a>, which is able to generate videos from text prompts. The video service is not available to the public and it is unclear when it could be, as OpenAI said it is still going through “several important safety steps”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2024/02/16/openais-sora-has-rivals-in-the-works-including-from-google-and-meta/?sh=3f0911822843">to combat potential issues</a>&nbsp;related to misinformation and bias.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/16/technology/openai-artificial-intelligence-deal-valuation.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OpenAI Completes Deal That Values the Company at $80 Billion</a>&nbsp;(NYT)</p>



<p><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/28/openai-funding-valuation-chatgpt/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">OpenAI closes $300M share sale at $27B-29B valuation </a>(TechCrunch)</p>


In this photo illustration a Open AI logo is displayed on a

OpenAI Reaches $80 Billion Valuation In Venture Firm Deal, Report Says

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Billionaires List: Africa’s Richest People In 2024


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Medication abortions prescribed and delivered using video calls, text messages and pills delivered through the mail are just as safe and effective as a visit to the clinic, according to research published Thursday in Nature Medicine, as politicians across the country continue to fight over abortion access and the Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/12/13/supreme-court-agrees-to-hear-abortion-pill-cases-determine-whether-pills-should-be-restricted/?sh=2e0147367e27">prepares</a>&nbsp;to consider a challenge that could upend access to a key abortion drug, mifepristone.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>Medication abortion, which involves taking two pills—mifepristone followed by misoprostol—can be delivered safely and effectively using telehealth, according to new peer reviewed research from University of California, San Francisco.</p>



<p>In 2021, the Food and Drug Administration&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/16/health/abortion-pills-fda.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">permanently lifted&nbsp;</a>restrictions that required mifepristone to be dispensed in a medical clinic, paving the way for the pill to be prescribed through a telemedicine appointment and shipped to the patient by mail.</p>



<p>Pregnant patients who obtained the abortion pills from virtual clinics and had two remote follow-up appointments after they’d taken them had no serious adverse events—such as needing major surgery and blood transfusion—99.8% of the time, the researchers said after analyzing data from more than 6,000 patients from virtual clinics operating in 20 states and Washington D.C. between April 2021 and January 2022.</p>



<p>Additionally, the researchers said around 98% of the abortions administered this way took place without needing any further medical care.</p>



<p>The figures are on par with outcomes for patients who receive medication and abortion care in-person, according to the researchers, who urged lawmakers to rethink policies that restrict access to this “essential healthcare service” over purported fears over safety.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-news-peg">NEWS PEG</h2>



<p>Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the constitutional right to an abortion, anti-abortion activists and lawmakers have turned their attention to other ways of restricting access. Initially, this fight mainly focused on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/05/us-abortion-clinics-close-after-roe-overturned" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">physical abortion clinics</a>, and the effort later expanded to target abortion medications like mifepristone and misoprostol, which respectively end pregnancy and empty the uterus by causing cramping and bleeding. Both drugs have undergone rigorous safety testing as part of the approval process in the U.S. and abroad and strong safety records from data collected over decades. Anti-abortion advocates have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/13/us/supreme-court-abortion-pill.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">questioned</a>&nbsp;the approval process behind the drugs and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/02/26/the-big-american-post-roe-battle-over-abortion-pills" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">claim</a>&nbsp;they are unsafe and harm women, urging officials and judges to take them off of shelves and ban them from being delivered through the post. Experts&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/04/11/mifepristone-ruling-here-are-the-unintended-health-consequences-of-attacks-on-abortion-pills/?sh=368c856e6405">warn</a>&nbsp;there could be unintended healthcare consequences from banning or curtailing access to the pills, as the drugs are also used for a variety of other medical conditions and to treat miscarriages.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



<p>Despite the Supreme Court returning the power to regulate abortion access back to states when it overturned Roe, the court is due to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/12/13/supreme-court-agrees-to-hear-abortion-pill-cases-determine-whether-pills-should-be-restricted/?sh=2e0147367e27">consider</a>&nbsp;the issue of abortion access once again after a federal judge in Texas took the&nbsp;<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/unprecedented-texas-abortion-pill-ruling-sparks-debate-judge/story?id=98531203" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">unprecedented</a>&nbsp;step of suspending the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone. The court is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.statnews.com/2024/01/29/mifepristone-scotus-abortion-pill-case-march/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">slated</a>&nbsp;to hear arguments for the case restricting access to mifepristone in March. In a press release, UCSF said the study has “already been cited in the amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court supported by more than 300 leading reproductive health researchers. ”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



<p>“Since the Covid-19 pandemic, telemedicine has become the new frontier in health care, including for medication abortion,” said the study’s lead author Ushma Upadhyay, a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at UCSF. “A ruling against this method and the FDA’s rigorous science review process would be a huge blow to the American public and make this essential health service harder to get.”</p>


Woman holding pills and glass of water while standing in kitchen at home

Abortion Pills: Telehealth Procedure Is As Safe As Clinic Visit, Research Finds


<p><strong>Rwanda’s capital played host to the first-ever UK-Rwanda Business Forum recently, showcasing the East African nation’s development andpositioning as a potential investment destination in the region.</strong></p>



<p>Rwanda’s narrative has changed and the country is now proving to be a major hub for business in Africa. This, and more, formed part of the discussions at the maiden UK-Rwanda Business Forum, which took place January 29 to 31 in the country’s capital city.</p>



<p>“Over 1,200 people from 60 nationalities attended the conference; 130 UK companies were down in Kigali scouting for opportunities in this small-sized country with a fast-growing economy. The UK is quite keen to tap [into] financial services, mining as well as agriculture,” the UK’s Trade Envoy to Rwanda, Lord Dolar Popat says to FORBES AFRICA.</p>



<p>“Out of this forum, we have now built a bridge with Kigali and London. Rwanda now exports 10 tons of agricultural produce and we have increased direct flights on the back of Rwanda upping [its] cargo capacity. All this will open up the country to more trade investment eventually balancing off the trade numbers.”</p>



<p>Out of a multitude of UK businesses present at the forum, one of the major announcements came from data-driven super platform, Bboxx.</p>



<p>“We reinforce our dedication to the continent with a strategic move of our headquarters from London to Kigali. We are an Africa-first company,” said the company’s co-founder and CEO, Mansoor Hamayun.</p>



<p>Bboxx is reportedly planning to train an additional 1,000 or so Rwandans over the next five years and invest $100 million in the country. The announcement coincides with its ambitious plans for the year, with the company’s impact set to expand tenfold. It aims to reach 36 million people by 2028, thanks to a $100 million initiative&nbsp;with Kuwaiti investment company, EnerTech, announced in December 2023.</p>



<p>Rwanda is forging forward and becoming an attractive and emerging powerhouse, with UK High Commissioner to Rwanda, Omar Daair noting, “As the first ever forum, we see an opportunity to increase our trade with Rwanda. The level of interest in Rwanda is potent.”</p>



<p>Currently, trade between Rwanda and the UK sits at around $56 million. The East African nation’s economy is heavily reliant on agriculture with the country being the second largest exporter of tea to the UK, after Pakistan.</p>



<p>“We see a real drive in tech and innovation in Africa. We want to see that increase here in Rwanda. Africa is increasingly important. The middle class is growing. No country can think about its future economy without thinking about Africa,” adds Daair.</p>



<p>With increased investment in infrastructure, and widespread stability in the region, Rwanda’s government is upbeat about unlocking new frontiers in the mining space.</p>



<p>The country and UK mining giant, Rio Tinto Minerals Development Limited have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in relation to the exploration and mining of lithium in the Western Province of Rwanda.</p>



<p>“We are happy that this is taking place here in Kigali. Several Rwandan businesses are also interested in venturing forth into the UK,” notes Rwanda Development Board CEO, Francis Gatare.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“This was a moment to plant seeds and to water the seeds that are already growing. I am encouraged by the number of Rwandan businesses that have signed MoU’s with British companies.”</p>


Tag: News Letter

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